Like Father, Like Son
by icehcund
Summary: AU - Married!Camaya ; His therapist back in high school always warned him that his children would most likely go through what he did. Not even in his wildest dreams, did he think it would be true.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Sorry this is so short. I suck at intros when I already have my thought process thought out.**

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**_Campbell Saunders: Stressed To Success _****_by Emily Hanson_**

_Toronto Maple Leafs Captain, Campbell Saunders, was not always the cool, calm, and collected guy you see in the interviews on ESPN and the NHL Network. Saunders, 33, not only struggled with the stress of being the youngest NHL prospect while only being a sophomore in high school, he also struggled with depression. Almost killing himself in grade ten, this hockey superstar has come a long way. [Continued on S3]_

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**January 10, 2030**

"Maya? Have you seen my blue tie?"

Campbell Saunders was rifling through his drawers, trying to find his lucky tie. He refused to go anywhere near the ice rink without this specific tie on.

"You mean this one?"

He lifted his head at the sound of his high school sweetheart's voice with a smile. "Yes, that one. Mind tying it for me? I've never been good with those things."

Maya nodded, walking into the room. She slung the silk tie around Cam's neck and began to tie it. "What would you do without me, Superstar?"

Cam chuckled. "I wish I never have to find out," he said as Maya finished up. He gave her a quick kiss on the cheek.

"Ew! Cooties!"

Both Maya and Cam turned to face their youngest daughter, Allison. She was petite with short, curly blonde locks - just like her mother. Although Allison was only six, she already had glasses sitting atop the bridge of her nose - another trait she inherited from her mother. With a huge smile on his face, Cam went to lift the little girl in his arms. "Yeah, you won't be saying that when you start to like boys."

Little Allison shook her head, giving her father a toothy grin. "I won't ever like boys. Never."

Maya walked over to the two, placing her hand on her husband's shoulder. "And it better stay that way, Ally," she said with a chuckle.

As Cam passed Allison over to Maya, he gave the little girl a kiss on the head. As he did so, Allison pouted, sticking out her bottom lip. "Do you have to leave so early, Daddy?"

Returning the young girl's pout, Cam ruffled her hair, nodding. "Sorry, sweetie. You know I've gotta be at the rink two hours before the game starts," he said, turning to Maya. "You guys are coming to the game, right?"

Maya nodded hesitantly, biting her lip. "That depends if you can convince your son to go. He's been holed up in his room all day. Ally tried to get him to come out, but he didn't want to."

With a groan, Cam made his way down the hall to his son's room. He tried the doorknob, but it was locked, which wasn't much of a surprise considering it was always locked. Cam could hear the sounds of some shooting game through the oak door. He lifted his hand to knock on the door, but as soon as his knuckles touched the wood, the door swung open. A thirteen year old boy stood before him. The young boy's brown hair mimicked his father's when he was in high school, except it was slightly ruffled. You could pretty much say the boy was younger version of Cam, the only thing different being his eyes, which were blue like his mother's. "What?" The boy questioned, crossing his arms over his chest, exposing the video game controller in his hand.

"Mom tells me you don't wanna come to the game tonight," Cam said, mimicking the boy's movements. "I get that you don't like seeing hockey in your off-season, but this is my last home game for the next month. I'd really like it if _all _of you went." When Cam noticed the boy hadn't even flinched, he rolled his eyes, setting his hand on the boy's shoulder. "Come on, Ryder. Just this once? I promise we can go get ice cream or whatever you want after."

Ryder looked from the controller in his hand to his father, biting his lip - another trait picked up from his mother. Unfolding his arms, he nodded his head. "Fine, fine, I'll go. But only under one condition."

Cam gave his son a confused look. "What is that?"

A small smile appeared on Ryder's face as he looked up at his father. "You have to promise to kick Pittsburgh's butt _and _score a goal."

With a grin, Cam slapped his son on the shoulder. "I'll even try for hat trick."


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: This is basically a flashback, so enjoy! I'd love some feedback by the way. It'd be really helpful considering I don't write many stories like this. :)**

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_[Continued from Front Page] Just a few weeks ago Saunders sat down for an interview with a reporter from ESPN, his first interview since making captain for Toronto. In his interview, he talked about his past and how he got where he was today. The one subject Saunders couldn't drop was his wife, Maya._

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**June 23, 2017**

Maya sat anxiously in the doctor's office, waiting. Not only was she waiting for the nurse to come through the door and call her name, but she was also waiting for Cam. He should have been here by now, his practice ending almost an hour ago. Maya had been checking her phone and the front door of the waiting room for the past half hour. She was about to give up when a breathless Cam came bursting through the door. Catching sight of the blonde, he walked over to her, a sad smile on his face. "I'm so sorry I'm late," he said, sitting down next to her. "Coach held practice longer than usual and Dallas-"

She held her hand up to stop him, a giddy smile on her face. "It doesn't matter. All that matters is you're here now."

Cam sighed, leaning back in his seat. He looked around the room, seeing only one other couple sitting on the opposite side of them reading a baby name book. The couple looked to be about in their 30s. Cam thought to himself that this probably wasn't their first child because of how calm they seemed compared to him. He looked back at Maya. Although she wasn't showing yet, you could tell. There was the glow to her face that Cam saw on his mother when she was pregnant with his little sister. Biting his lip, he reached for Maya's hand, which was resting on her stomach. "How much longer do you think we have to wait?"

Before Maya could even open her mouth, a nurse came out from behind the white swinging doors and called out for Maya. With a nervous sigh, Maya stood up, Cam following in her wake. The nurse led them down a narrow hallway, past a nurse's station, and into the sterile examine room. Maya took a seat on the bed and Cam sat in the open chair beside it. The nurse closed the door and grabbed the clipboard off of the counter, scanning it up and down. When she looked up at Maya, she smiled. "Well, good morning, Miss Matlin. How are we today?"

Maya gave the nurse a nervous smile, sneaking a glance at Cam who was staring silently at his hands. "Um, pretty good. I'm still a bit nauseous, but that's normal, right?"

With a chuckle, the nurse nodded, checking something off on her clipboard. "Yes, perfectly normal. Now, on the paper you filled out, you estimated that you were about eight weeks along?" Maya gave her a quick nod, biting her lip. It was eight weeks ago that her and Cam had sex, so it only made sense considering they hadn't done it since then. The nurse nodded, checking something else off. When she looked up, she didn't look at Maya, she looked at Cam. "I assume you're the father?"

Caught off guard, Cam's head shot up. "Uh, yeah," he mumbled.

The nurse probably could tell he was nervous because she gave him an assuring smile. "The first one is always the scariest, don't worry."

Cam gave her a small smile before looking back down at his hands. The nurse asked Maya a few more questions before leaving her and Cam alone until the doctor came in. Maya turned to face Cam with a sigh. "I'm scared to, you know."

"I know," Cam said quickly, looking up at his girlfriend. "It's just...we're still kids ourselves. How are we supposed to raise one?"

Maya groaned, closing her eyes. She stayed silent for a while, trying to process her thoughts. When she opened her eyes, she spoke quietly. "We don't have to, you know. I mean, I'm only nineteen, you're only twenty. Our futures could be ruined by-"

"Maya," Cam said, grimly. He reached for Maya's hand, hoping the it would calm her down. "Our futures won't be ruined. This doesn't change that."

Before Maya could say anything else, there was a knock on the door and the doctor walked in. She was tall, her tan skin contrasting with the white coat she wore over a navy blue dress. She gave the couple a warm smile before sitting down on the stool by the counter and picking up the clipboard the nurse had left. "Good afternoon, Miss Matlin. I'm Dr. Ramirez." She looked up, still smiling. Her eyes traveled to Cam. "Are you the father?" Cam nodded, this time with more assurance than when the nurse asked him. The doctor looked back at Maya. "Well, Maya, since you're eight weeks, would you like to have an ultrasound? It won't look like a baby yet, just an embryo."

Maya's face lit up and she nodded excitedly. "I'd love to!"

Dr. Ramirez chuckled at Maya's eagerness. "Okay then. I'm going to ask you to lie back and lift you shirt so that your belly is exposed, okay? I'll be right back with the equipment."

As the doctor walked out, Maya laid back on the bed, pulling her shirt up. Cam watched her as she did so, eyeing her belly. Looking at her now, you wouldn't believe that she was pregnant. There were no visible signs that she was. Maya caught Cam's gaze with a giggle. "I'm only eight weeks, Cam. Most people don't show until they're about twelve."

Cam nodded, looking over at Maya, a nervous smile on his face. "Y-yeah, I know. When my mom was pregnant with Lily, she didn't show until she was like eleven weeks."

Maya gave her boyfriend a small smile, but it faltered when she thought about telling their parents. "How are we gonna tell our parents?"

Completely caught off guard by this sudden realization, Cam's hands grew sweaty. He hadn't even thought about telling his mom and dad. He had no idea how his parents would react. They'd probably lecture him on being too young and his dad would remind him of his future hockey career and how no team would want a player with baggage. He shook his head. "One step at a time, M."

Dr. Ramirez pushed the door open, wheeling a machine in front of her. She smiled at the two and Cam stood up to help her. As he moved it where she wanted, she plugged it into an outlet. She stood up and grabbed something off of the cart. She held it up so that Maya could see the gel. "This is gonna be a bit cold," she said before putting some of the gel on Maya's exposed belly, causing her to shiver. Dr. Ramirez leaned over and switched on the machine and grabbed the sensor off of the cart. She place the sensor on Maya's belly and began to move it around, smearing some of the cold gel. Maya strained her neck to get a good look at the picture on the screen. Cam did the same. Dr. Ramirez kept her eyes on the screen, but kept moving the sensor. "As you can tell, you can't see much. It looks like a little bean right now. In a few weeks, we'll be able to see more."

It was in this moment that Cam decided this baby wasn't a burden to his and Maya's life - it was a gift. And he wasn't going to just throw that gift away.

After Dr. Ramirez had wiped off Maya's belly and got everything back on the cart, she left the couple alone again. Maya sat up, pulling her shirt down. She looked over at Cam who was smiling. "What?"

Cam stood and placed a kiss on Maya's lips. When he pulled away, he locked eyes with her. "I think we can do it," he said, reaching for her hand.

Maya tilted her head to the side with a big smile on her face. "You think so? I mean, I know how much you wanted to get drafted before we even thought about settling down, but-"

"God, Matlin, you talk too much," Cam said, covering Maya's mouth with his hand. He slowly dropped his hand to reveal the blonde's wide grin. "I don't care what I wanted before."

A noise from the doorway made the two look up. Dr. Ramirez was standing there, a big smile on her face. She walked back into the room, closing the door behind her. "I'm sorry to interrupt your moment, but there's a few things I need to discuss with you both." Cam sat back down, but kept his fingers interlocked with Maya's. They waited patiently for the doctor to continue as she looked back down at the clipboard. "On the family history section you checked off something I'm kind of concerned about."

Maya felt her heart race. She knew exactly what she checked off. She looked over at Cam and she could tell by the look on his face that he knew what the doctor was talking about too. "What is it?" She said, quietly.

Dr. Ramirez sighed, setting the clipboard back down on the counter. "You checked off that there was a history of clinical depression." As the words left Dr. Ramirez's mouth, Maya felt Cam's hand grow sweaty. She squeezed his hand to let him know that she was here. "As you probably know," Dr. Ramirez continued, "depression can be hereditary. I won't get into that too much, considering it's very complicated to explain." She looked over at Cam, a sad look in her eyes. "Are you still taking medication?"

Cam shook his head. "I stopped about a year ago. My therapist said that as long as I visit her twice every week, I should be fine without it."

"How often do you experience depressive episodes?" Dr. Ramirez questioned.

This one question honestly stumped Cam. He couldn't remember the last time he hit a low. He scratched his neck, a habit he thought he had broken after high school. "Not that often. I, um, I don't think I've had one since high school, actually."

Dr. Ramirez nodded, picking up her clipboard again and scribbled something. "Well, it seems like you've start to get better, Mister..?"

"Saunders. Campbell Saunders," he said quickly.

"Well, it seems like you're doing better, Mr. Saunders, but I wouldn't exactly cancel out the chance that this baby might one day end up being diagnosed with depression," Dr. Ramirez said, setting the clipboard down again. "Another thing I have some concern about is that you two are so young." At this statement, both Maya and Cam bowed their heads, not wanting to make eye contact with the doctor. "Honestly, I have nothing against it. I mean, you two are adults and you seem like a strong couple. It's just..."

Maya's head snapped up, curious. "Just what?"

Dr. Ramirez sighed, giving Maya a sad look. "It's just health concerns. About you and the baby. Because you're so young, there are higher health risks. Right now, I wouldn't be too worried since it's early in the pregnancy, but once you become farther along...I would recommend you come see me at least once a week."

Maya nodded, looking down at her stomach. Biting her lip, she looked back up at the doctor. "Anything else?"

The doctor shook her head, collecting the clipboard from the counter again, reaching for the doorknob. "I'll see you two in about four weeks, okay?"

As Dr. Ramirez walked out, Maya slowly slid off of the patient bed and turned to face Cam who was still sitting, staring the tile floor. "Cam? Are you okay?"

Cam shook his head, looking up at Maya. She frowned when she saw his watery eyes. He bit his lip as she did so. "I just...I don't want our baby to have to deal with everything I did. Even the possibility of that happening scares me, Maya."

Maya knelt down beside him, setting her hand on his knee. "Oh, Cam. I know it's scary, I'm scared about the possibility too. But that's just what it is: a possibility. We don't know if it will even happen."

Taking a deep breath, Cam wiped at his eyes, giving Maya a small smile. "Right. You're right. I shouldn't jump to conclusions like that," he said, almost chuckling.

Giggling, Maya stood up and held her hand out for Cam, who took it, standing up himself. "Just think: superstar could be super _dad_."

A huge smile broke out on Cam's face as he intertwined his fingers with Maya. "You're such a dork, Matlin."

"But I'm _your_ dork," Maya said, as they walked out to the lobby.

Cam smiled to himself. Maybe this parent thing wouldn't be that bad.


End file.
